That's right, I used the word tat, but in all fairness it goes really well with the word zappin'. Let me preface this post by explaining something about dudes and tattoos and barber shops. Nothing beats a good haircut, especially when you've got a great barber and especially when that barber is a great old guy from Sicily named Gaspare. His father owned a barber shop there and he started helping out by shaving customers at age seven. With a straight razor. When Gaspare was still a kid in Sicily, barber shops in New York City were sharing space with tattooers like Charlie Wagner and Jack Redcloud, and some barbers also tattooed on the side, like Willie Moskowitz.

Yesterday, after literally months of rescheduling, myself and a couple friends finally got to do a  day of haircuts and tattoos. (No buzz-cuts, though. That also just sounded good.) Put down the Lame Whistle; I understand we can't recreate the days of the down and dirty Bowery -- besides, I'm pretty sure I'd get my ass kicked real quick in those days -- but the least we could do is have a good time while giving a slight nod to tattooing's roots. 

We got to the barber shop around noon and lined up for haircuts. Andy got a shave, too, and we all left Gaspare's feeling like a hundred dollars. I first met Andy Perez a couple years ago around the time I'd heard he had started tattooing. Currently, he's working out of Jersey City Tattoo Co. with tattooers Adam Paterson and Chuck Daly, but since he's only there a few days a week, we headed back to his place and got set up.

Quick disclaimer: neither myself nor Needles and Sins promotes sketchy, kitchen table tattooing. Luckily, Andy's setup is all above board: sterile needles, disposable tubes, madacide, etc.

And hey, if Marisa can handle getting tattooed in a hotel lobby, I can handle a rumbly apartment off the BQE. It should also be noted that I'm not one to go around posting every time I get a new tattoo, but I figured this is okay because it's a little different.
 
Ryan went first and writhed through some serious script on his collar bone. He made it out alive, if not a little exhausted, and I chose a pretty righteous skull from Andy's latest set of flash. He opted to stick with just black, red and yellow, leaving out the bits of blue from the original design. He knocked it out in no time and now I've got a sweet and clean daggered skull just below the knee pit. It's even got a gold tooth, so it's legit.   

Check out Andy's blog and if you can't make it out to Jersey City, it's possible he'll make a private appointment. Getting haircuts is also recommended.